Trucks Sales Up, Natural Gas and a Courier Acquisition

The week in trucking has seen truck sales up, natural gas and a courier acquisition all in Diesel News.

In October the Truck Industry Council figures show the heavy duty truck segment continue to forge ahead, leading the continued recovery of the heavy vehicle market in Australia. The total market, truck and van, was up 13.8 per cent for the month of October, while year-to-date heavy vehicle sales are tracking 10.2 percent higher than this time in 2016. All market segments, except light duty, posted gains over the corresponding month last year. Overall the month was the second best on strength.

Kenworth continue to dominate at number one in heavy duty with the current production of 15 trucks a day netting 266 sales in October. Volvo, Isuzu and Mack also sold well over 100 vehicles for the month.

Natural Gas For Iveco

In Europe, Iveco has announced it will supply Jost Group with 500 Stralis NP (Natural Power) models which operate using LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), claimed to provide a reduction of up to 10 per cent in CO2 emissions and up to 50 per cent less NOx compared to equivalent diesel-powered trucks.

Meanwhile here in Australia, Darren Swenson, Iveco Australia Marketing Manager,, said IVECO’s latest natural gas technology in Europe could eventually make its way to Australia depending on market interest.

Stralis NP models are also reckoned to provide reduced engine noise of up to 50 per cent. The first 150 vehicles will enter operation in 2018 with the remainder to join the fleet by 2020, helping Jost Group to achieve its goal of running up to 35 per cent of its total fleet on natural gas by the end of this time frame.

Courier Acquisition

Courier service, Zoom2U, has expanded its capabilities with the acquisition of Freight Match, an Australia-wide online service that matches transport operators with customers wanting to move goods.

According to Zoom2U this move gives customers an alternative delivery method for interstate shipping, employing road freight carriers and air freight operators to deliver larger items such as pallets, building materials and shipping containers.

Zoom2U says on interstate deliveries, lower fees are possible as goods essentially ‘hitch a ride’ with vehicles that are already traveling to the required destination.

“Much like courier delivery, freight transportation is an area that can be optimised significantly,” said Steve Orenstein, Zoom2U CEO. “The problem is that existing services use the same technology systems that were used ten years ago, making delivery jobs unnecessarily complicated.